The door to Floor Three slid open with a metallic groan, revealing a cavern drenched in violet mist. Strange roots twisted along the walls, pulsing faintly like veins. The air hummed with electricity, sharp and tense, as if the entire chamber was waiting for something to happen.
Tatsu stepped in first.
He immediately regretted it.
The temperature was cold enough to sting his skin, yet the mist clung to his face with a wet heat that felt disturbingly alive. He shuddered.
"This place smells like someone microwaved seaweed," he muttered.
Fridge Sama walked past him with quiet steps, hands tucked behind his back in that infuriatingly calm posture of his.
"This is a simple ecosystem," Fridge Sama said.
Tatsu glared. "Simple? It looks like a poisonous stomach."
"Yes," Fridge Sama replied. "Simple."
Tatsu opened his mouth to argue, but the ground beneath them rippled. A low vibration trembled through the entire cavern. Both of them fell still.
Something was waking up.
A heavy thud echoed through the mist. Then another. Followed by a growl so low it rattled the stones under their feet. Tatsu's breath caught.
"That," he whispered, "is definitely not a boar. Or a cat. Or anything I want to meet."
The mist split apart.
A hulking two-headed reptilian beast lumbered into view. Each head had jagged teeth, molten eyes, and breath hot enough to melt iron. Its long tail cracked behind it like a whip, slashing through a boulder and sending shards flying.
Tatsu froze.
"What is that thing," he choked out.
Fridge Sama tilted his head slightly."Annoying."
The left head roared.The right head roared louder.Tatsu nearly threw up.
"That is not annoying," he said. "That is a boss monster having marital issues with itself."
Fridge Sama stepped forward, examining the creature with the bored eyes of someone judging produce at a market.
"Both heads are loud," he said. "You will handle one."
Tatsu's soul left his body on the spot.
"No. Absolutely not. I barely handled a goblin. I am not fighting Godzilla's twin-pack combo special."
Fridge Sama didn't blink."Handle one."
Tatsu pointed frantically."Him? That? That is not a head. That is a screaming furnace with anger management issues."
The beast lunged.
Tatsu leapt sideways with a scream that could haunt a nation. The impact shook the entire cavern, dust raining down in a gritty shower.
Fridge Sama extended one hand casually.
The beast's second head shot forward—but froze mid-lunge, encased in ice from jaw to neck. The body thrashed, trying to break free.
Tatsu stared."You froze one head before it even finished its entrance roar!"
"I reduced the noise," Fridge Sama said.
"That is not noise reduction," Tatsu yelled. "That is attempted murder with a silent filter!"
The beast snapped its one free head toward Tatsu with rage blazing in its eyes.
Tatsu backed away in a panic."Oh no. It wants me now. Fridge Sama, help me!"
"No," Fridge Sama said calmly. "Fight it."
"This is not training," Tatsu shouted.
"It is," Fridge Sama replied.
"No, this is bullying."
Before Tatsu could protest further, the beast charged again.
This time Tatsu didn't run.His knees almost buckled, but he forced his legs to move sideways, narrowly dodging the snapping jaws. Adrenaline shot through his veins. His heart hammered. His vision sharpened. He felt alive in a way he did not want to admit.
The beast twisted around—faster this time.
Tatsu rolled behind a cluster of stone pillars.
"Okay okay okay," he whispered frantically. "Think. Think. Use the environment. Use the… the rocks. Use my sadness. Something."
The beast crashed through the pillars one by one, debris exploding around him.
Tatsu grabbed a broken shard of stone, gripping it with both hands.
He stepped out.He swung.
The shard hit the beast's snout.
The beast paused.
Tatsu froze.
The beast blinked.
Tatsu blinked back.
Then the beast roared in pure outrage.
Tatsu shrieked, "I knew that wouldn't work!"
He sprinted toward Fridge Sama.
"This thing does not respect geology!"
Fridge Sama didn't move. He simply lifted his hand and flicked a finger. A sharp crack of cold shot through the ground. Ice erupted upward, carving a spire that slammed into the beast's chest and pinned it against the cavern wall.
Tatsu stumbled, wide-eyed."You could have done that at the start!"
"Yes," Fridge Sama said.
"Then why didn't you!"
"You needed warm-up."
"I do not need warm-up," Tatsu yelled. "I need therapy!"
The beast roared again, struggling violently. Its unfrozen head bit into the ice spire, cracking it. The temperature spiked wildly as heat poured from its throat.
Fridge Sama frowned slightly.
"It is persistent."
"IT IS TRYING TO KILL US," Tatsu shouted.
Fridge Sama raised his hand."Then let it stop."
The air dropped in temperature instantly.
The cavern frost-over in an instant, violet mist crystallizing into shimmering shards. Frost hummed across the ceilings and walls. The beast froze mid-roar—literally—as the cold snapped through its body.
Its entire frame turned white.Then blue.Then still.
Silence dropped over the chamber.
Tatsu exhaled shakily, dropping to his knees."That… that was the most stressful thing I have ever done."
Fridge Sama nodded."Yes."
"You did nothing to help."
"I froze the beast."
"You could have done that five minutes earlier."
"I told you," Fridge Sama said softly, "warm-up."
Tatsu's voice cracked."I will fight you instead."
"You will lose."
"I know!"
Fridge Sama turned away from the frozen corpse, hands once again behind his back."You improved."
Tatsu blinked."…I did?"
"Barely," Fridge Sama said.
And somehow, that single insult felt like the highest praise Tatsu had ever received.
A glowing message appeared in midair.
Floor Three CompletedProceed Forward
Tatsu stared as the next door rumbled open.
"I survived three floors," he whispered. "I am living anime filler. I am unstoppable."
"You are very stoppable," Fridge Sama said.
Tatsu sighed. "Can you let me enjoy one victory."
"No."
"Why."
Fridge Sama answered without hesitation.
"Because if I let you enjoy your victories, you will try to take naps between fights."
Tatsu gasped. "You know me too well."
Fridge Sama stepped through the doorway.
"Come. The next challenge awaits."
Tatsu followed, muttering under his breath.
"I swear… one day… I will become strong… and then insult you correctly…"
"You already insult me incorrectly," Fridge Sama said.
"I was whispering," Tatsu snapped.
"I have good ears."
"I have bad luck!"
Fridge Sama paused, glancing back with a faint, amused expression.
"You are interesting when you panic."
"That is not a compliment," Tatsu said.
"It is," Fridge Sama replied.
And somehow, Tatsu believed him.
They stepped into Floor Four.
The door closed behind them.